3.5 Theory Proposals

There is the opportunity under the HST Archival Research program to obtain support for theoretical research. Research that is primarily theoretical can have a lasting benefit for current or future observational programs with HST, and it is appropriate to propose theory programs with relevance to the HST mission. Recent trends in HST funding suggest that of order 5% of the total HST GO Funding might be used to support Theory Proposals.

A Theory proposal should address a topic that is of direct relevance to HST observational programs, and this relevance should be explained in the proposal. Funding of mission-specific research under the HST Theory Program will be favored over research that is appropriate for a general theory program (e.g., the NASA Office of Space Science Astrophysics Theory Program; ATP). The primary criterion for a Theory Proposal is that the results should enhance the value of HST observational programs through their broad interpretation (in the context of new models or theories) or by refining the knowledge needed to interpret specific observational results (a calculation of cross sections may fall under the latter category). The results of the theoretical investigation should be made available to the community in a timely fashion.

A Theory proposal must request a specific amount of funding (see Section 8.6.3) and must provide a narrative that describes the proposed use of the funds (see Section 9.7). Detailed budgets are not requested in Phase I, however, but are due in Phase II only (see Chapter 12 for details). Theoretical research should be the primary or sole emphasis of a Theory Proposal. Analysis of Archival data may be included, but should not be the main aim of the project. Funding for GO or AR proposals in which theoretical research is included but not predominant will remain appropriate under the normal GO or AR programs.

Only U.S. Investigators (as defined in Section 12.2) are eligible for funding of Theory Proposals.

A Theory Proposal may be submitted by a non-U.S. PI if there are one or more U.S. CoIs who request funding.

Award amounts for Theory Proposals are anticipated to be similar to those made for 'Regular AR' proposals (see Section 3.4.1), for which the majority of the awards in recent cycles have been under $100,000, with a median around $50,000. For reference, 10 Theory proposals were approved in Cycle 12. However, STScI does allow the submission of more ambitious proposals for which larger amounts of funding may be justified.

Theory Proposals should be identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10).

The 'Scientific Justification' section of the proposal (see Section 9.1) should describe the proposed theoretical investigation and also its impact on observational investigations with HST. Review panels will consist of observational and theoretical astronomers with a broad range of scientific expertise (see Section 6.1.1). They will not necessarily have specialists in all areas of astrophysics, particularly theory, so the proposals must be written for general audiences of scientists. The 'Analysis Plan' section of the proposal (see Section 9.6) should discuss the types of HST data that will benefit from the proposed investigation, and references to specific data sets in the HST Data Archive should be given where possible. This section should also describe how the results of the theoretical investigation will be made available to the astronomical community, and on what time scale the results are expected.